Put Mass Ave on faster track

Development gaps along Mass Ave have long kept the Downtown shopping, restaurant, arts and entertainment district from reaching its full potential.

The avenue's vibrancy is disrupted by the city's fire headquarters, the Barton Towers apartments and the old Coca-Cola bottling plant, now a huge school bus parking and maintenance facility.

It's unfortunate, then, that City-County Council deliberations over an important economic development tool could delay and possibly endanger plans to fill those gaps.

Mayor Greg Ballard wants to expand Downtown's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district to include the avenue and other areas, so that progress finally can be made on long-sought development goals.

Under TIF, a city locks in a site's property tax contributions at its current level. To further attract development, the city also provides enhancements that can include street improvements, parking and landscaping.

The process certainly can be abused. Some communities have overused the tool, expanding it far beyond what is necessary to promote development. If an area's tax revenue is frozen for too long, schools, transit and other public needs can suffer.

That's why the council established a committee to review how the city has created and managed TIF districts. Such a review is appropriate.

But the council's leadership would do well to remember that the city in many ways is at a disadvantage in competing for business with the suburbs. Further development of Mass Ave and other areas in and near Downtown is needed to attract new residents, who in turn will increase the city's income and sales tax revenues. Those taxes are even more important for cities now that Indiana has capped property tax rates.

For now, the city gets no tax revenue from the fire station, Barton Towers or the former bottling plant because the properties are held by branches of government. So, in the long term, any commercial or residential development that occurs because of TIF will help the city's finances.

It's important for Mass Ave, the rest of Downtown and the entire city that the proposed developments be allowed to move forward without further delay.

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Put Mass Ave on faster track

Development gaps along Mass Ave have long kept the Downtown shopping, restaurant, arts and entertainment district from reaching its full potential.